Book picks similar to
Muses of Roma by Rob Steiner
science-fiction
first-reads
history
sci-fi
Earthweeds
Rod Little - 2017
Two students return from a mountain camping trip to find an empty city. Everyone in every metropolis has gone. Only a few living souls remain in the countryside. And then the lizards came. The size of men, they flooded the city and attacked the few remaining people. When these mutated creatures are confronted by giant spiders, the two species fight each other for the remaining food supply...with the humans caught in the middle. A teenage boy with electric powers, a college student who can communicate with animals, a scientist with a dark secret, and a band of psychopaths with their own agenda... all come together. Defending each other from the evils of men and creatures alike, the last humans form separate camps and race against each other to unravel the mystery of the deserted cities, the swarming creatures, and the threat to humankind. While fighting off the giant monsters that sprang from nowhere, they search for clues that lead to alien devices and the possibility of a deeper reason for the world's transformation. But the mystery of the human disappearance remains. Sam, a boy born with powers able to generate electric charges, teams up with a boy who can understand the language of birds and spiders, and together they set out to find the answers. Another camp led by a mad scientist is racing to find the same answers, but for a very different reason.
A post-apocalyptic novel and science fiction adventure
blending together elements of monsters, survivalists, and science fiction. Earthweeds is Volume 1 in the Sons of Neptune series.
The Chiral Agent
L.L. Richman - 2020
Now, they want him dead.“intricate, action packed and ambitious." — Publisher’s Weekly BookLife Prize (starred review)_________________________________His genetic code could destroy all life.Shadow Recon pilot Micah Case awakens above an alien world, with no memory of his past and a mysterious voice inside his head. Worse, his own military is hunting him... and he has no idea why.The voice leads to a discovery so unbelievable, enemy nations would kill to control it — to control him. Now, Micah must use every skill in his arsenal to secure the stolen research.The stakes are impossibly high, but failure is not an option. The alternative could mean the extinction of a people Micah can no longer call his own. Humanity.THE CHIRAL AGENT is a fast-paced, cerebral thriller that's part hard science fiction, part spy novel, and one hundred percent adrenaline. It’s sure to keep you guessing every step of the way._________________________________“A provocative science fiction thriller novel with intelligent ideas…in a genre that is saturated by robots and aliens. Richman’s writing makes it even larger and more encompassing, as the author writes with bold and evocative strokes [that] keeps you in the zone. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — Reader’s Favorite Book Reviews “The excellent prose makes this thriller compulsively readable and the suspense creates an exhilarating experience for the reader. The Chiral Agent is tightly plotted and packed with action. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” — Reader’s Favorite Book Reviews
Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead.
Chris Pauls - 2012
. . with the walking dead. This fast-paced thriller reimagines the historical events of the fateful Titanic voyage through the lens of zombie mayhem. Captain Edward Smith and his inner circle desperately try to contain a weaponized zombie virus smuggled on board with the 2,200 passengers sailing to New York. Faced with an exploding population of lumbering, flesh-hungry undead, Smith's team is forced into bloody hand-to-hand combat down the narrow halls of the huge steamer. In its few short days at sea, the majestic Titanic turns into a Victorian bloodbath, steaming at top speed toward a cold, blue iceberg. A creepy, tense page-turner, Deck Z will thrill zombie fans and Titanic buffs alike.
Retribution Required
C.R. Daems - 2018
There smuggling, bribes, and a wild-west live-free-or-die attitude prevails and an eye-for-an-eye is the preferred method of retribution. For Zenaida, a child of the Rim, the death of her father requires retribution. But she must first learn how to survive while trying to track down her snow leopard's stolen litter and her father's killers. But unknown to her, her father's killers spared her for a reason—a secret that could mean her death if she discovers it.
Wreckers
George Ellis - 2021
And jokes.At 19 years old, Denver is the youngest wrecker in the verse. His only companion, other than his one-eyed cat Pirate, is an AI navigator named Gary based on classic 21st century sitcom personalities.That all changes when Denver meets Batista, a mechanic who claims to know what happened to Denver’s missing father and brother.Following her information, Denver is drawn into trouble with the various forces in the galaxy — bandits, feds and rival wreckers. As complications mount and he’s forced into helping different sides chase the hottest technology in the verse, Denver, once a lone wolf, collects the small crew he never knew he needed. But can he keep them alive?
Arch Allies
Audrey Sharpe - 2019
Sure, restoring the ship won’t be easy, especially when the Feds figure out she’s running an illegal salvage operation, but she’s never shied away from hard work. Or challenges. Good thing, too. Because she’s on a collision course with her competition. If you like sailing the black with rogues and rascals, then you’ll love Arch Allies. A must read for fans of Firefly and Star Wars. Pick up your copy today!
The Peacemaker's Code
Deepak Malhotra - 2021
Thrust into the highest levels of government as an adviser to the President, the young historian must come to terms with the seemingly impossible, figure out how to navigate a world where not everything is as it appears, and use all the skills and knowledge he has acquired in his life to help save humanity from a conflict of truly epic proportions. A genre-breaking novel that re-examines the human condition and masterfully blends some of the most compelling themes in literature: war & peace, strategy & serendipity, love & friendship, courage & fear, the bounds of possibility, and the limits of imagination. Replete with mysteries that will compel you to keep turning the pages, powerful moments that will stop you dead in your tracks, and insights that will change the way you understand and navigate the world. Most of all... a journey you will not forget.
Lady of Devices
Shelley Adina - 2011
Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . . When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .
Battle Lines
Chris Hechtl - 2015
But he returned changed, he had lost one of his AI to rampancy after fighting an Xeno AI Wraith, and his greatest AI, his confidant Commander Sprite had chosen to leave him. He didn't return to civilization alone however. He brought with him over a hundred precious sleepers, officers and enlisted personnel ready to help rebuild the Federation once more, along with petabytes of precious blueprints and data, designed by some of the greatest minds of the Federation. But before they can begin to forge a new fleet they have to stop the rampaging Horathian Empire in it's tracks. Rear Admiral Amadeus White has been assigned to push the enemy back and keep them back while Admiral Irons and Subert work on building new ships. Admiral Subert has his own problems to deal with in Pyrax. He needs time, time to adjust, time to clean up the mess. Time to build more ships. But the enemy within and without won't wait. Napoleon said it best, "You can ask me for anything but not time!" The Battle Lines have been drawn!
Rewinder
Brett Battles - 2014
But even if you did, you’d never believe it.The world as you know it wouldn't be the same without him. Denny was born into one of the lowest rungs of society, but his bleak fortunes abruptly change when the mysterious Upjohn Institute recruits him to be a Rewinder, a verifier of personal histories. The job at first sounds like it involves researching old books and records, but Denny soon learns it's far from it. A Rewinder's job is to observe history.In person.Embracing his new duties with enthusiasm, Denny witnesses things he could never even imagine before. But as exciting as the adventures into the past are, there are dangers, too. For even the smallest error can have consequences. Life-altering consequences. Time, after all, is merely a reference point.
Botanicaust
Tam Linsey - 2012
is human.After genetically altered weeds devastate Earth's crop lands, Dr. Tula Macoby believes photosynthetic skin can save the human race, and her people single-mindedly embark on a mission to convert the cannibals roaming what's left of Earth. But when Levi, a peaceful stranger, refuses alteration, Tula doesn't think the only options should be conversion or death.Levi Kraybill, a devout member of the Old Order, left his Holdout farmland to seek a cure for his terminally ill son. Genetic manipulation is a sin, but Levi will do almost anything for the life of his child. When he's captured, he's sure he's damned, and his only escape will be death.Tula's superiors schedule Levi's euthanization, and she risks everything to set the innocent man free. Now she and Levi are outlaws with her people, and she's an abomination with his. Can they find sanctuary in a cannibal wasteland?
Paradox Bound
Peter Clines - 2017
Okay, maybe a lot obsessed. But come on, how often do you meet someone who’s driving a hundred-year-old car, clad in Revolutionary-War era clothes, wielding an oddly modified flintlock rifle—someone who pauses just long enough to reveal strange things about you and your world before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires?So when the traveler finally reappears in his life, Eli is determined that this time he’s not going to let her go without getting some answers. But his determination soon leads him into a strange, dangerous world and a chase not just across the country but through a hundred years of history—with nothing less than America’s past, present, and future at stake.
Star Vigilante
T. Jackson King - 2012
And with the aid of the self-aware starship Mata Hari, he’s been successful in bringing a small bit of justice to the alien star culture of the Anarchate. But then a crossbreed woman hires him to right a wrong being done to her planet by an alien commercial conglomerate that rules whole star clusters. Matt, aided by cyborg improvements that make him a deadly foe, sets out to do his job the best he can. Soon, he is on track to becoming the deadliest Vigilante in human history. But humanity’s survival among the crowded stars might be the price for success in his job.
Rift: The Complete Rift Saga: Books 1-3
Andreas Christensen - 2017
They called this new nation the Covenant, and two centuries later, it is stronger than ever. The Moon people, descendants of lunar colonists who returned to Earth to rebuild it, rule with an iron fist, to ensure their dominance over the original inhabitants, the English. For the Covenant is a nation where a chosen few prosper at the cost of everyone else, and while the English are forced to serve their masters their entire lives, the Moon people have mastered the greatest secret, the secret of life itself. In the Rift Saga we follow Sue and Dave, two English teens sent off to serve, Evan, a soldier and a member of one of the most prominent families of the Moon people, and Mark, the oldest man on Earth, as they find themselves in the midst of events, uncovering conspiracies that have kept the Moon people in power ever since they left their dusty refuge behind. Sooner or later, in different ways, they will all find that lies and deception can only work for so long, and sooner or later the truth will be unveiled. What will happen once the veil of lies unravels? The Rift Saga takes place more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster. The Complete Rift Saga consists of Rift (Book 1), Covenant (Book 2) and Legacy (Book 3).
Fate of Perfection
K.F. Breene - 2017
But her daughter inherits more than superior genetics…little Marie has a rare ability that the world has never seen, and her conglomerate, Moxidone, will stop at nothing to have sole possession of the child.Teamed with Ryker, the formidable master of security, Millicent must risk everything in a life-and-death struggle to tear her daughter away from the ruling force who wants to own them all. The odds are stacked against them, but Moxidone will learn that the pursuit of perfection comes at a perilous cost—and that love can’t be bought at any price.